Running Back to Safty
by MyWorldDoesn'tEnd
Summary: Everyone has baggage. Emotionally, physically, mentally; it all holds us back from what we really want. After years of fending for herself Danni Swan has a lot of baggage. She doesn't think anyone can help her carry it as things only get more complicated by the day. (Based after Bella "dies") FYI everything is not as it seems so pay attention or prepare to be shocked later on.
1. Chapter 1

Running Back to Safety 

Everyone has baggage. Emotionally, physically, or mentally, it all holds us back from what we really want. After years of fending for herself Danni Swan has a lot of baggage. She doesn't think anyone can help her carry it as things only get more complicated everyday. (Based after Bella's "death")

Chapter One: Returning

I stumble around the moving boxes scattered around my apartment; reaching the ringing phone just in time.

"Hello?" I answer a little out of breath.

"Danni Swan?" A deep male voice asked into the phone.

"Speaking," I said, unsure what this call was about.

"This is Seth Clearwater. I know your uncle Charlie." His voice sounded nervous, sad even.

"Did something happen, is Charlie okay?" I asked, with worse case scenarios running through my mind.

"Charlie's fine. I don't know how to say this, but he got a call about your cousin Bella. I hate to be the one to tell you, but she was killed in a car accident last night." I was so shocked I had no reaction, I just stood frozen holding the phone as I stared blankly at the bare wall opposite me.

"When's the funeral?" My voice cracked, making the words hard to understand. I looked down at the floor where my little boy sat happily playing with his alphabet blocks, completely oblivious to the emotional roller coaster I was currently riding.

"Next Friday. I'm really sorry for your loss," Seth said softly.

"Thank you for calling me," I replied as tears began to fall down my face, making it hard to speak. "Can you tell Charlie that I'll by there as soon as I can."

"Sure thing. I'll tell him. Again, sorry for you loss."

"Thank you." I hung up the phone before walking over to Jay, picking him up so I could hold him close to me. I simply cried into his hair as I clutched him to my chest. With Bella being raised by her mother, I hadn't known my cousin very well. I hadn't even been invited to her wedding last year, but that didn't take the sting out of losing yet another family member. I had never known my dad, my mom had died serving over seas in the Marines when I was ten. My Gram raised my sister and I form as far back as I could remember. Gram died a little over three years ago. My sister and I had long since gone our separate ways, for all I know she was dead. To my knowledge Charlie is the only family I have left except for Jay.

Jay began tapping his little hands against my shoulder as he tried pulling away from my chest, grunting in an attempt to go back to his blocks. I snuffed as I shifted him into my left arm and wiped away the tears from my face. I set Jay back down to play and looked around at all the boxes. We were moving again, I hadn't decided where to yet, but now it looked like Forks was as good a place as any to go. I hadn't been home since Gram's funeral, it would be nice to go back there again. And being home I would be able to help Uncle Charlie. Gram had left me the old house, so I wouldn't even have to find somewhere to stay.

I resumed packing, but now with renewed hurry as I placed our things into the boxes. I didn't have much seeing as I moved a lot and that being a single mother didn't bring in much money. By night fall I had everything packed and in the back of my car. Jay was fast asleep in his car seat as I pulled away from the apartment building, no intentions of ever coming back. I had left the keys to the apartment in the mailbox for the lady that owned the building to come collect in the morning.

I barely gave Portland a backward glance as we left the city limits. It was no longer safe for Jay or I to remain here, looking back we should have left a couple months ago. The only reason we had stayed as long as we had was because my job had paid well enough and I thought being in a big city would make it easier to stay hidden. I looked in my rear view mirror at the sleeping toddler in the backseat. The very thought of anything ever happening to him or having to leave him terrified me more than words could ever describe. That little boy has become my entire reason to keep going, he was the reason I pulled myself out of bed in the morning and kept moving.

Jay hadn't been planned, but that wasn't his fault. I would never hold the circumstances that he came into the world under against him, in reality he was a blessing in disguise. I smiled as I heard a quiet snore come from the back seat. As I glanced in the mirror I could see his little mouth forming a perfect 'o' as his little round head lulled against his shoulder. I treasure moments like this, when he was simply sleeping or being a happy child. I know that he'll grow up too quickly and that things will change, but that doesn't stop me from wishing that I could freeze time so he would stay my little baby boy for just a bit longer.

It was well after eleven at night when I pulled into the driveway of the old farm style house I was raised in. I carried Jay in first, uncovering the sheet covered couch to lay him on while I went back out to the car to get the baggage we would need in the morning. The rest could wait till tomorrow. The old house lacks power at the moment. I would have to make a few calls in the next couple of days to get the electricity turned back on and to get the TV hooked up. I locked the door before carrying Jay up to my old bedroom. Dakota had lived here a while after Gram's death but it looks like Uncle Charlie had kept the place locked up since she left. When I opened the door, my room was exactly the way I had left it.

I carefully peeled Jay out of his jacket and shoes before laying him gently down on the far side of the bed against the wall. I placed the small jacket and shoes on the dresser before taking my own jacket and shoes off. Thankfully the house had a well so the water wasn't shut off and I could brush my teeth. As I brushed my teeth I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I hated looking at myself, not because I though of my self as ugly, but because whenever I saw myself I saw my sister. They were never my dark green eyes looking back at me, they were hers. Long black hair, thick eyelashes, full lips, slightly tanned skin, that was all hers too.

Besides looks Dakota and I where nothing alike. I call myself crazy for thinking about her so much. There always seemed to be a thought flouting around in my mind about her. I changed before I joined Jay in bed to fall asleep.

I woke as the sun just started to shine through the window on the far side of the room as two small hands pushed against my chest in an attempt to shake me. Small grunts accompanied the shoves as I proved harder to wake than Jay had expected. I groaned as I moved my arms to surround Jay and pulled him to my chest. I knew there was no hope in getting any more sleep, but I prayed Jay would at least give me a couple minutes to wake up properly before he started demanding to be fed.

When I could finally open my eyes without wincing at the sun coming through the window, I got out of bed, carrying Jay with me as I walked down the stairs. He was great at walking across the floor on his own, but I didn't want him falling down the stairs in an attempt to follow me. I quickly changed Jay's diaper and put him into some new, warmer clothes before feeding Jay his baby food. I took small bits of my own bowl of cereal in between spoonfuls of green peas and carrots. When we were finished I carried Jay back upstairs so I could change and get ready for today.

...

While Jay played with his toys on the living room floor I made several trips back and forth between the house and the car, bringing in our things and setting up Jay's portable crib in the old guest room next to mine. When it was finally an acceptable hour to receive a visit I packed Jay into the car and drove a couple streets over to Charlie's house. The cruiser was parked in the driveway as usual, but there was another car in the driveway too, a tan honda that I know didn't belong to Charlie.

When I knocked on the door an older woman that looked to be part of the local reservation answered the door. I was just as surprised to see her as she was to see me.

"Can I help you?" She asked kindly.

"Um… Does Charlie Swan still live here?" I asked concerned.

"Yes, of course dear. Come on in." The woman opened the door wider so Jay and I could step inside.

"You must be Charlie's niece, Danni. I'm Sue Clearwater, my son, Seth, was the one to call you yesterday." I gave her a sad smile as I nodded, now remembering her from when I was younger. Her husband and Charlie were good friends.

"Who's this little guy?" Sue asked and smiled at Jay, allowing him to grasp her finger as she moved it up and down like they were shaking hands causing Jay to give her a big smile.

"Jaime, but I call him Jay." She smiled down at him a moment longer before returning her attention to me.

"Seth said you promised to come as soon as possible. We didn't figure that you'd be here so soon," Sue said apologetically.

"That's alright. I had been packing to move when Seth called me. I was living down in Portland, it was nothing to drive the couple hours to get here. I actually got in late last night."

"Oh!" Sue said sounding surprised as she lead me toward the kitchen. "Charlie you've got visitors." Sue said as she walked through the kitchen doorway. Charlie was seated at the table with Billy Black and a young man that I'm assuming to be Sue's son Seth.

"Danni?" Charlie asked I came into the room. He quickly stood and wrapped Jay and I in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry Uncle Charlie." I whispered as I wrapped one arm around his shoulders while holding Jay with the other. Charlie hugged me a little tighter for a second before pulling away with a snuff, wiping at his eyes.

"Thanks Danni." Charlie looked down in my arms before a small smile came to his face.

"Little man's gotten so big since I saw him last!" Charlie held his arms out to take Jay, easily taking him from me when Jay reached out toward him.

"Yeah he just won't stop growing." Charlie nodded as Billy cleared his throat at the table.

"Oh. Danni you remember Billy Black?" I nodded as I smiled at Billy, I had been taken on a couple of their fishing trips over the years.

"And that behemoth of a boy is Sue's son Seth. Seth, this is my niece Danni and her boy Jay." I smiled as I held my hand out to Seth. It was hard to believe he was the same kid I had known years ago.

"Nice to see you again, Seth." Seth nodded as he shook my hand.

"You too, Danni. I wish it was under better circumstances." I nodded before turning my attention back to Charlie and Jay, the two seemed to ignore us as they played peek-a-boo. Jay was giggling at Charlie as the two seemed to be in their own little bubble. I was glad that even with all the pain Charlie must feel over losing Bella, he was still able to smile.

"Where are you two staying? I hope it's not that old motel on the edge of town." Billy asked from across the table, bringing my attention away from Charlie and Jay.

"Oh, no. Gram left me the house, Jay and I are staying there for the time being." Billy nodded, obviously relieved that we weren't staying in the trashy, dump this town called a motel.

"Good. That's no place to stay with a child." I agreed full heartedly. I would have spent the night sleeping in the car before I would have stayed a night there.

"How are Jacob and the girls?" I questioned as I took a seat in the available chair.

"Good, good. Rachel's studying to become a teacher at UW, Rebecca's married and living with her husband in Hawaii and Jake just finished his last year of school now he's off traveling."

"Wow. I didn't realise I had missed so much back here while I was away."

"You're not the only one. We were all surprised when we found out you were going to have a little one of your own." I smiled though I was cringing on the inside, remembering why I had stayed away for so long. No one in this town could ever keep a secret. If one person know it, everyone knew it. I imagine that the rumour mill would have been buzzing as soon as everyone knew I was in town with a child of my own.

"He definitely was a surprise, but I love him just the same." Billy seemed a little taken aback by my tone, but nodded before changing the subject. Being away hadn't changed this town and I would have to get use to it if I was going to spend any substantial time here with Jay. But I swore to myself that Jay would never feel unloved as long as I lived. I turned away from Billy as he tried to smooth over his blunder of pointing out Jay's unexpected arrival to look at Charlie.

"So what can I do, Uncle Charlie?"

**_AN: thank you for reading this story i hope you like it and follow._**

**_This was an adopted story of the same name but i have gone though and changed many things about it just in case anyone reconised some things the original writer has now taken down her version of the story from what i can find._**


	2. Chapter 2

Running Back To Safty

Chapter Two: The Funeral

I hate funerals. I have attended way too many so far in my life, my grandfather passed away when I was six, then mom when I was ten, then my grandmother when I was eighteen, and now my only cousin.

Charlie had been devastated that we couldn't have an open casket funeral for Bella, but the undertaker said that when Bella's car had crashed it had caught on fire and that we didn't need to see her like that. He told us it was better to remember her alive and happy instead of ruining that image forever. Overall the funeral was beautiful. There was flower baskets everywhere and the church seemed packed with everyone from Forks and La Push. All of Bella's friends from high school had even come home from college to be here and I think that meant a lot to Charlie; to know that Bella had good friends that she meant a lot too.

Renee wasn't handling losing Bella with any sort of grace. She had draped herself over the casket as she sobbed. We had been forced to remove her from the church for a while when she began screaming. We all knew Bella was taken from us too early and that things should have been different, but Renee's screaming was just too much for Charlie, and Renee's new husband Phil to take. They had escorted her out to the parking lot where Phil stayed to comfort her for the rest of the calling hours.

I met Bella's husband, Edward, and his family. They all seemed nice, but something seemed off about them. Their faces all held a pained expression, but none of them cried, the total opposite of Renee. Edward seemed to be trying to stay away from everyone and his family seemed uncomfortable being here. I had noticed that some of the people from La Push would glare and stay as far away from the Cullens as possible, only making the funeral harder to endure. Feeling that something wasn't right I kept Jay away from the Cullens as I huddled close to Charlie and Sue.

Many of Bella's friends from La Push came to the funeral, shockingly most of them were very tall, muscular men. The woman with them gave Charlie and I a hug before she introduced herself to me.

"I'm Emily Uley, I'm so sorry for your loss, if you need anything Sue and Seth have my number." I tried to smile and thanked her. She smiled sadly down at Jay before moving on so the rest of the group could move down to give their condolences. Emily's husband, Sam, was rather imposing, as were all of them. But I got the feeling that all of these boys were gentle giants. Towards the end of the line was a guy named Paul, he seemed to want to be anywhere but here and that was punctuated by his short 'sorry for your loss' to Charlie before quickly moving over to me.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He mumbled before he glanced up toward my face. It was the strangest thing when his eyes met mine. He took a deep intake of air and his eyes change from annoyed and uncaring to awed.

"Thank you for coming." I told him. He shook his head a little before looking down at Jay in my arms. Paul tensed and a pained expression came to his face. He gave a terse nod and walked to the back of the room. I couldn't help but watch him before turning my attention to the next person. When I looked back again Paul was gone, apparently slipping out the back while I had spoken with one of Bella's former classmates.

After everyone had come through the line to give their condolences, Charlie and I took our seats in the front pew with Renee and Phil. Reverend Weber gave Bella's coffin a blessing before turning toward the congregation.

"Before I invite family and friends forward to say a few words about Bella, I would like to end my portion of the service with a quote." Reverend Weber cleared her throat as he flipped to a page in the bible.

"Psalm 23:The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures: he leadth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadth me into paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." We all joined in a moment of silence before Reverend Weber closed the bible and looked out over the crowd.

"If anyone would like to say a few words, please come forward." Charlie slowly stood, stepping out of the pew, past a weeping Renee and walked to the front of the church. He stood in front of Bella's casket, placing his hand their before turning around to face the room.

"As hard as it is to do in a moment like this, Bella wouldn't want us to cry. I'm pretty sure she would be mortified that she's the centre of attention today." Charlie smiled a little as he rung his hands together. "Bella was an amazing person, I was proud to call her my daughter and couldn't have asked for anyone better. I would be lying if I didn't say that she was a bright spot in my life. I was never happier than the day she was born and the doctor placed her in my arms. I never knew that a grown man could turned to goo so fast from just the touch of a tiny six pound baby girl." Charlie paused as he wiped at the tears that were starting to fall down his face.

"I know that everyone that met Bella found a special place in her heart. She held no ill will to anyone and would give you her last dollar if that was what you needed. I miss my little girl, but I know that I'll be able to go on knowing that she'll be looking down on me and that she'll live on in the hearts of everyone that knew her." Charlie rubbed the wood at the head of the casket before leaning down to kiss it. I looked down at Jay as he put his hand on my face, looking curiously at the tears that trailed down my cheek. After Charlie returned to his seat Jacob stood to speak.

"Bella and I have been friends for as long as I could remember. In some ways she became like another sister, but I knew that no matter the problem I could always go to Bella and she would listen. Even if the problem was something silly, she would sit there and listen and do whatever she could to help. I don't know how many nights we sat in my garage and just talked. Being around Bella was as simple as breathing, she knew all the right things to say or to do. The world's just not going to be the same without her."

"Anyone else?" Reverend Weber asked as he stood from his seat. He nodded as no one stood. "Alright, now if everyone would please make their way to the cemetery next door for the burial." The church slowly emptied out as Charlie, Phil, Jacob and some of his friends walked to the front to be pallbearers. Reverend Weber walked with Renee and I behind the casket as the men carried Bella to her burial plot next to our grandparents. We all stood around as Reverend Weber prayed for Bella ending with the Lord's prayer.

"Lastly, Revelation 21:4, 'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. The family may now say their final goodbyes." Charlie, Renee, Phil, Edward and I moved forward one at a time, whispering our love and goodbyes before placing a single yellow rose on the casket.

"May you all go in peace." Reverend Weber said and the crowd began to leave. Sue gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek and took Jay before leaving Charlie and I at the grave for a little while longer. Tears were quietly streaming down our faces as we stared at the pine box. I leaned into Charlie in an effort to comfort him, he raised his arm and pulled me into his side in a one armed hug.

"I don't understand why it had to be her? Of all the people in the world, why her?" Charlie whispered brokenly. I pressed my face into his shoulder as I brought my other arm around his neck. I rubbed circles on his upper back as Uncle Charlie clutched me to him and cried into my shoulder.

"He only takes the best." I tried, but even I knew that it was little comfort to Charlie. He still had to live with the fact that his little girl was gone.

After a while Charlie pulled back, wiping away the tears as he lead me back toward the car. Sue had arranged a dinner at the house, the street in front was lined with a dozen cars when we pulled up, only a couple of Bella's friends and Jacob's friends from the rez had come back to the house along with Jacob and Billy. Once inside I found Sue's daughter Leah playing with Jay on the floor in the living room.

"Here, Jay. Over here, Jay." Leah said as she held out a toy. Jay was looking away from her though as he watched the people moving around in the kitchen. "Jay?" Leah tried again. I smiled sadly as I moved into the room.

"He's not going to respond to you calling his name Leah." I said sadly as I took a seat on the couch.

"Why not?" Leah asked as she turned to looked at me.

"He's deaf, Leah. He can't hear you calling his name." I said softly as I looked over at my little boy.

"I'm so sorry, Danni. I didn't know." Leah said quickly. I nodded as I took a little comfort in the words.

"It's okay, Leah. I've know since he was born. The only other person that knows is Uncle Charlie."

"He looks a lot like you." Leah said, smiling up at me as Jay finally looked at Leah and reached for the toy in her hands.

"Yeah he's definitely my little man."

AN: thank you all for the support so far wiht this sorty, i dont like this chapters but it had to happen for the story, i hope you dont mind it' the next chapter is one of my favouties and where the story really picks up. will try to update in the next two weeks. hope you have a nice day/night check out my other storys while you wait for the up i dont think you will be disappointed.


	3. Chapter 3

Running Back To Safty

Chapter Three: Broken Pipe

I've been home for almost a month and even with all the adjustments, it still feels good to be back. Uncle Charlie got me a job at the station answering phones. It wasn't a glamorous job, but it paid good money and at the moment that's all that matters. I was surprised when I didn't have to find a baby sitter for Jay. Sue offered to watch him while I worked since she only worked part-time on the night shift at the hospital. She even went as far as to do research on simple signs to start using with Jay to help in teaching him sign language. She had even gone to the trouble of buying DVD's that Jay could watch to help him learn.

I had almost been brought to tears when she showed me. I borrowed a couple of the videos to watch at home so I could continue learning, too. I had known from day one with Jay I would need to start learning sign language to teach him, but I had only learned the absolute basics when I could. At the time he was born I was to busy rethinking my whole life and looking after him to really have time to learn it.

I hadn't been the least bit surprised when Sue told me that she had found Charlie watching the videos with Jay a couple times when he came home before I picked Jay up for the evening. Charlie had said from the beginning that he would do anything he could to help and learning to sign was a step in communicating with Jay.

Jay and I had been watching one of the videos when I left the living room to put a dish in the sink. When I turned the water on to rinse the food off the plate, the pipes under the sink made a screeching noise and before I could think water was soaking into my socks. I quickly turned the water off and called Charlie to come over quickly as water continued to flow out of the pipe and cover the kitchen floor around me. Charlie was here not five minutes after I called with a bag of tools as I was covering the kitchen floor in towels to soak up the water.

"What happened?" Charlie questioned as he took a knee in front of the sink, opening the cabinets under the sink to look at the pipe's underneath.

"I don't know. I turned the sink on, there was a screech from the pipes and then my feet were getting wet." I explained. Charlie nodded as he looked at the pipes with a flashlight.

"I'm going to go turn off the water in the cellar. It will make it easier to take care of the pipes when it's off." I nodded as he stood and headed to the cellar door. I went back to the living room to get Jay and got him ready for bed while Charlie worked. Charlie came up the stairs as I laid Jay down in his crib for the night. He waited in the hall until I came out, shutting the door lightly behind me to keep the hall light from waking him.

"One of the main pipes has a crack about this big..." Charlie said as he held the fingers of his right hand about half an inch apart. "Apparently there was a rust spot and the pressure of the water caused it to crack open. There's nothing else I can do for it. In the morning I'll call a guy I know down in La Push and have him come over to fix it. He's handy to have around, a jack of all trades." I gave Charlie a smile and nodded as we walked down toward the staircase.

"Thanks Uncle Charlie. Don't know what I would have done without you." I said. He snorted.

"Been mopping up water all night, more than likely." He joked and I laughed with him as I walked him to the door.

"Probably. Please tell Sue she doesn't need to watch Jay tomorrow. I'm going to take tomorrow off to be here when the guy arrives. I'd feel bad if she watched Jay even though I wasn't working." I explained as Charlie stepped out the door onto the porch.

"I will, but she probably wouldn't mind if you brought him over anyways. She loves watching him during the day." Charlie smiled and I returned it.

"I know she does, but if I'm going to be home anyway there's not really a point to having her watch him." Charlie nodded and I pulled him in for a quick hug before he walked out to his cruiser. Giving a honk and a wave before he pulled away. I shut the door, locking it before heading up stairs to change into my pyjamas for the night. I made sure the motion sensing baby monitor was on before laying down in bed and going to sleep.

I was woken by the beeping of the monitor when the sun was just above the horizon. I groaned as I rolled to the side of the bed and slowly stood up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I walked toward the door. Why did he have to be such an early riser? I smiled as I pushed open the door to Jay's room to see him standing against the rail of the crib. He gave me a grin when he saw me and raised his arms above his head for me to pick him up. I smiled and scooped him up, raising him up above my head quickly and making movements like he was flying toward his changing table causing him to giggle and clap his hands happily. I quickly got him changed and dressed before going about my morning routine to get ready for the day.

While Jay kept himself entertain playing with his cheerios I called in to the station to tell them I wasn't coming in today. I had just hung up the phone when it rang.

"Hello." I answered.

"Morning Danni, I figured this was late enough to call, knowing Jay." Charlie replied through the phone. I chuckled through the receiver as I glanced at the little man in his highchair.

"You would be correct. I've been up since just after the crack of dawn." Charlie chuckled on the other end.

"Definitely don't miss those days, your mom hated them. Lori always loved to sleep in, then she had you and your sis and she never got to sleep in past six." Charlie reminisced. "Anyway. Just wanted to let you know that I called Sam just now and he said he'd be over about nine to fix the pipe."

"Thanks Uncle Charlie. I'll make sure to be ready when he gets here."

"Sure thing kiddo. Sue says that you and Jay can come over for dinner tonight, she doesn't want to go into baby withdrawal." I giggled at the wording as Charlie laughed on the other end.

"Alright, what time does she want us?"

"Just come at five. I don't think she'll mind if you're early."

"Perfect, see ya later."

"Yep, see ya later, kid." Charlie hung up and I turned to Jay. I roughly signed while I told Jay what was happening today.

"A man's going to come fix the sink and we're going to dinner at aunt Sue and Uncle Charlie's." This had become part of my morning routine with Jay to help me practice signing and to get him familiar with the signs.

It's only seven and Sam would be here in two hours to fix the pipe. Since it's nice day out I decided that I would repaint the porch. The old white paint had chipped in many places leaving it more brown then white. After finishing my cereal I grabbed Jay's play pen and set it up in the front yard, only a few feet away from the porch so I would be able to see Jay while I painted, but also keep him away from the paint fumes.

I pulled my hair off my shoulders and up into a bun at the top of head and set an old radio in the window to play while I painted before placing Jay in his pen with a couple of his favourite toys. I started at the far end of the porch, figuring to work my way toward the stairs. Jay watched me for a couple minutes as I hummed to the music and painted but eventually, he got bored and turned to his toys. Nan use to make me and my sister paint the porch every summer as kids, it was a good way to keep us out of her hair for a while.

I was almost back to the porch steps when a black truck pulled into the driveway. I glanced down at my watch, noticing that I'd lost track of time. Two men got out the truck before pulling a bag out of the back and walking up the pathway toward me. I stood and smiled at the two.

"Thank you so much for coming." I said a stuck out my hand for them to shake. I recognised them from the funeral. One was Emily's husband, Sam, and the other was Paul.

"No problem. I'm Sam and this is Paul. Just need you to show us which pipe needs fixing." I nodded.

"I remember you from the funeral." I said and moved to scoop Jay up out of his pen before leading the two men inside.

"What exactly happened?" Sam asked as he laid on his back to look under the sink with a flashlight.

"When I turned on the water the pipe gave a screech before water started flooding out from under the cabinet doors." I explained and he nodded as he looked over the pipes.

"Don't you have a husband to do this kind of stuff for you?" Paul said rudely as he leaned on the counter. Sam shot Paul a look while my jaw ticked at the assumption, but I kept myself from responding harshly. He was helping fix my sink after all.

"No. I'm not married." I replied.

"No boyfriend, not your kid's father?" Paul pressed and I began to get irritated with his nosiness.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. No boyfriend and Jay's father is not in the picture." I responded curtly, hitching Jay back up my hip as he sucked on his fingers, looking curiously between Paul and Sam.

"I'm just going to go back outside." I directed my statement to Sam. He gave a nod and shot Paul another glare before I walked back outside. Paul had made a couple trips out to the truck to grab one item or another and I could feel his eyes on me each time he did. One time he came out and just took a seat on the porch steps while I was painting the posts that held up the handrail.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier. I'm told I'm not much of a people person. My friends say that my bluntness makes my questions rude, even if I don't mean them that way." I glanced away from the post for a second to look at Paul's face. He seemed to really mean what he was saying. I sighed as I looked back toward my work.

"It's okay. At least you don't beat around the bush." I flashed him a smirk to show I was serious in my forgiveness. Paul gave me a grin in return.

"So, what's keeping you in town?" Paul asked and I raised an eyebrow at the question. This seemed to be his way of starting a conversation. Thinking about what he'd said Paul turned a little sheepish. "Sorry, you don't have to answer, rude question." I chuckled a little before deciding to answer.

"I think this is as good as place as any to hide from the real world. My grandmother left me the house when she died. I don't really have anywhere else to be, Uncle Charlie and Jay are really all I have left, so why not Forks?" Paul nodded as I finished speaking.

"That sucks. Not having family, I mean." Paul clarified. I just nodded. I worked in silence for a couple seconds before I remember what happened at the funeral.

"When we spoke at the funeral, you seemed to want to be anywhere else." I stated and Paul nodded.

"I'm not going to argue. I'm not much of a people person and funerals make that even more apparent. Plus, your cousin and I weren't exactly the best of friends." Paul stated as I finished the last post of the right handrail. I decided to take a break and set the brush down to take a seat next to Paul on the step.

"Oh, what happened?" I asked curiously.

"The first time we met your cousin slapped me." Paul stated as he glared toward the road. I snorted in laughter as I thought about it, my little cousin had slapped this giant.

"You're kidding right? My little 'heart of gold' cousin slapped you?" I questioned. Paul nodded as he turned to look at me. I chuckled some more before calming down. "What did you do to make her do that? Ya ask the wrong question?" I bumped his arm with my shoulder jokingly with a smirk. Paul rolled his eyes, but smirked.

"No. Jake had become friends with a couple of us and spent less time with her for a while. This was when she and Cullen had gone on the quits for a while. She came down to the rez to demand answers from Jake as we had been coming over. She turned on us and demanded to know what we had done to Jake because supposedly a week earlier he had been afraid of our 'gang' as she called it. I started laughing, because it was kind of funny. Your cousin was like a pissed off kitten and Jake wasn't the least bit afraid of us. Apparently, she was irritated at my laughing and decided to shut me up by slapping me across the face." I shook my head.

"My little cousin. Whoever would have thought? Did it hurt?" I questioned. Paul looked a little offended by my question. "Oh come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone." I promise.

"Maybe a little." Paul mumbled as he looked away. "If you grew up here? How come I don't remember seeing you around when we were growing up?" Paul asked, changing the subject.

"I didn't spend much time on the rez. My grandmother was kind of stricken with who I could hang out with, I really only went there the odd time or two with Charlie."

"Your last name's Swan right? Who're your parents? I didn't realise Charlie had a brother." Paul seemed confused with the information he had been given. I ignored how personal the question was turning and tried to clear up Paul's confusion.

"He doesn't. My mom was his sister, Lori Swan. I never really had a dad." I shrugged as I tucked my hands under my thighs, rocking my feet back onto my heels as I looked at the road.

"Sorry." Paul apologised. I looked up at him confused.

"For what?" I asked.

"I'm being a thoughtless, blunt, asshole with no filter, again." I chuckled at his answer.

"It's okay. I got over my mother issues a long time ago." I assured and Paul smiled. Then I could hear heavy boots walking out of the door behind us. Paul stood up as Sam came out onto the porch and offered me a hand up which I accepted.

"All done, I just need to turn the water back on to make sure." I nodded and moved to grab Jay, but Paul stopped me.

"I'll keep an eye on him for a second if you want, so you can show Sam where to go." Paul offered. I thought about it for a second before nodding, giving Paul a smile before leading Sam back into the house. It would only be for a minute, what harm could it do?

"I replaced a couple of the other pipes too because they were in rough shape. I hope that was alright." Sam asked as I opened the door to the cellar.

"That's fine, thank you." Sam nodded and followed me down the cellar stairs to the room that held all the controls to the electricity, heating and water. He looked over the water system for a second before finding what he was looking for and turning the water back on.

When we got back upstairs, I gave Sam some money for his work before we walked back outside. Paul was sitting on the step again as he watched Jay playing in his pen a couple feet away.

"Thank you so much for fixing that pipe." I said again and they both nodded before heading to their truck to leave. I gave them a wave as they pulled away before returning to painting the porch. I hadn't realised it while Sam and Paul were there, but that had been the first time I had an easy and real conversation with someone other than Charlie, Sue, or Jay since I have been here.

**AN: thank you all for the support, please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Hope you have a nice day/night check out my other storys while you wait for the up i dont think you will be disappointed.**


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